


A Slow Acceptance

by Small_Hobbit



Category: Forever (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-11
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-07-16 06:30:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7256257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jo may know Henry will return after dying, but it doesn't make it any easier</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Slow Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [GreyTabbyCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreyTabbyCat/gifts).



“What happened to Henry last night?” Lieutenant Reece asked Jo.  “I thought he’d have checked we were okay after all that happened.”

“He wanted to get off; he was concerned Abe would be worried and didn’t like to think of him on his own in the circumstances.”

Reece nodded briefly and walked off.

Jo hoped she’d see Henry before he saw Reece again, so their stories could agree.  At least there’d been no reports of skinny dipping which would certainly rouse Reece’s ire.

It was lunchtime before Jo was free to make her way to Abe’s shop.  Abe welcomed her in and told her Henry was in the kitchen.  She went through to find him.

“How are you?  Are you okay?” she asked, the instant she saw him.

“I’m fine,” Henry replied.

Jo threw her arms round him and burst into tears.  “I was so worried.”

“You knew what would happen.”

“But I couldn’t be sure.”

At that moment Abe came through.  “I’ve closed up for lunch,” he said.  “I’ll rustle up something quick.  I doubt Jo’s been able to eat.”

Jo sniffed.  “No, I haven’t.  I’m sorry.  I know you’ve told me what happens, but I was still so unsure.  Oh Abe, how do you cope?”

“It was easier for me, because I’d never known any difference.  It did cause problems when a schoolmate’s grandmother died and I assumed she’d turn up in the lake.  I seem to remember we moved again shortly after that.”

“Yes.  Abigail explained it away as a childish misunderstanding, and we moved before Abe could say anything else.  And then we had the difficult matter of explaining to Abe why Pop was different from everyone else.”

Jo thought and then said.  “I can see that would be equally fraught.”

“And now,” Abe said, “Go sit down in the dining room while I fix lunch.”

***

It was a few days later.  The ramifications of the case were still being felt, so it was late when Jo had finally fallen into bed.  She was just dropping off to sleep when her phone rang.

“It’s Abe,” said a very congested voice.  “I don’t like to trouble you, but I’ve got an awful cold.  It’s happened again,” there was a bout of coughing and then Abe continued, “This is where you need to go.  Take a blanket.”

Jo parked up and made her way hesitantly to the riverside.  There was no-one around apart from a couple of drunks.  She peered into the dark waters of the river, uncertain of what she would see.

“Looking for fishes?” one of the drunks jeered at her.  “I could give you a bite.”

The second drunk laughed, but both backed away when she produced her badge.

“No offense meant, lady,” the first called out, before taking to his heels.

As she turned back towards the river, having dealt with the drunks, Jo thought she noticed movement from within it.  Fifteen seconds later Henry’s head emerged from the water, followed by the rest of his body.  Forgetting the blanket she was holding for an instant, Jo looked admiringly at Henry’s naked body.

“Is everything all right?” Henry asked.

“What?  Oh, yes!  Here, have a blanket,” Jo said, startled out of her appreciation.

Henry wrapped the blanket round himself, before saying, “I didn’t expect to see you.”

“Why, are you afraid people might talk?  It’s okay, I’ve scared off the drunks.”

“No, but it’s hardly right for you to find me like this.  Abe’s used to it.”

“And Abe has a bad head cold.  Not to mention that even if being out on a night like this won’t harm you, it wouldn’t do him any good.”

Henry followed Jo back to her car and got in.  “I still don’t think you should have to see me like this.”

“Why not?  For a two hundred year old man, you’ve not got a bad body.”

“That’s not the point.”

“No?”

“Our relationship hasn’t progressed that far.  You said yourself you wanted to take things slowly.”

“I do.  Doesn’t stop me appreciating the sight though.”

“Does that mean you want me to invite you in when you drop me off?”

“Certainly not.  Firstly, you’re cold, wet and smell of river.  Secondly, I don’t want to catch Abe’s cold.  And lastly I just want to fall into my own bed and grab some sleep.  In fact, I’m so tired I’m not even going to ask you what you were doing which led to your midnight swim.  You can tell me in the morning.”

Henry muttered something evasive.

“Correction, you _will_ tell me in the morning.  But for now I’m stopping just long enough to make sure you get indoors and then I’m off.”

***

As Jo had anticipated, Henry failed to come into the station the following morning.  She therefore made her way round to the morgue, where she cornered Henry in his office.

Henry looked up.  “Abe says to thank you for picking me up.”

“Yes, I know,” Jo replied.  “He sent me a text.  Some people _are_ capable of communicating.”

“I had things to do,” Henry said.

“No, you wanted to avoid me.  You put yourself in danger again, without telling me where you were going.”  She raised her hand as Henry tried to say something.  “Don’t interrupt.  It wasn’t necessary, and before you start saying you didn’t want to involve me in something dangerous, can I remind you that’s my job.  Your job is to examine the dead body and report back to me, not disappear off to investigate by yourself.”

“Do you want me to say I’m sorry?”

“No.  And I don’t expect you to promise you won’t do the same again.  It’s just that I worry about you.  I don’t want you to get hurt.  And I’m not sure I’ll ever really get used to the idea of you coming back in that way.”  She paused and gave a sudden grin.  “Although I wouldn’t mind seeing you naked again.”

Henry looked at her, for once apparently lost for suitable words.

Before he could think of anything she crossed the floor, put her arms round him and kissed him passionately.

“You see, Henry Morgan, I love you.”

 


End file.
